Understanding Why Your Welds Crack – Part 2

Direction of Cracks

In our previous post we discussed categorizing cracks based on when they occur.  If you missed this you can read it at Understanding Why Welds Crack: Timing. As discussed in this previous article, cracks can and should be categorized based on three criteria: Timing – did the crack occur immediately after welding (hot crack), did […]

6 Mistakes That Can Lead to Cracked Welds

Cracks on welds are never good.  Welding codes always have allowances for porosity, undercut, weld sizes, and even weld profiles.  However, there is never an allowance for cracks.  Being a linear discontinuity, a crack will tend to propagate through the weld and into the base metal with relative ease, especially in cyclically loaded structures.  So […]

Importance of Root Fusion

When weld sizes are determined by design engineers, the theoretical throat is used to calculate weld strength which in turn gives our leg size (for fillet welds).  This means that the desired strength of a weld is achieved only if we attain fusion to the root and side walls. The terms fusion and penetration are used […]

Why Welds Crack

A weld failure is never good.  Whether  a weld cracks on a truck’s axle or on the post holding your house’s fence, there are always consequences.  Hopefully the consequences are limited to time and money.  Unfortunately, weld failures can cause injury.   Welds can fail due to design flaws, but the majority of weld failures occur […]